HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1842        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 834

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Stephan Hay

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to great-grandparent visitation rights.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

1/19/2017

Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr.

5th Worcester

2/3/2017

Diana DiZoglio

14th Essex

2/2/2017

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

1/31/2017

Denise C. Garlick

13th Norfolk

2/3/2017

Natalie Higgins

4th Worcester

2/3/2017

Steven S. Howitt

4th Bristol

2/3/2017

Joseph D. McKenna

18th Worcester

2/2/2017

Mathew Muratore

1st Plymouth

2/2/2017

Elizabeth A. Poirier

14th Bristol

2/3/2017

Alan Silvia

7th Bristol

1/20/2017

Jonathan D. Zlotnik

2nd Worcester

2/2/2017


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1842        FILED ON: 1/19/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 834

By Mr. Hay of Fitchburg, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 834) of Stephan Hay and others relative to great-grandparent visitation rights of certain minor children.  The Judiciary.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1261 OF 2015-2016.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

 

An Act relative to great-grandparent visitation rights.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 39D and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 39D. If the parents of an unmarried minor child are divorced, married but living apart pursuant to a temporary order or judgment of separate support, or if either or both parents are deceased, or if the unmarried minor child was born out of wedlock whose paternity has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction or whose father has signed an acknowledgement of paternity, and the parents do not reside together, the grandparents or great-grandparents of the minor child may be granted reasonable visitation rights to the minor child during his minority by the probate and family court department of the trial court upon a written finding that the visitation rights would be in the best interest of the minor child; provided, however, that the adjudication of paternity or acknowledgment of paternity shall not be required in order to proceed pursuant to this section where maternal grandparents or great-grandparents are seeking the visitation rights. No visitation rights shall be granted if the minor child has been adopted by a person other than a stepparent of the child and any visitation rights granted pursuant to this section prior to the adoption of the minor child shall be terminated upon the adoption without any further action of the court.

A petition for grandparent or great-grandparent visitation authorized pursuant to this section shall, where applicable, be filed in the county within the commonwealth in which the divorce or separate support complaint or the complaint to establish paternity was filed. If the divorce, separate support or paternity judgment was entered without the commonwealth but the child presently resides within the commonwealth, the petition may be filed in the county where the child resides.